Patna High Court
Md. Raees @ Tetna @ Md. Raees Alam @ RaisversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL REJECTED
- Bench
- PRABHAT KUMAR SINGH
Holding
The court held that bail could not be granted to the petitioner given the serious nature of the offences and the circumstances, and therefore rejected the bail application.
Summary
The petitioner, Md. Raees, applied for regular bail in a case involving alleged rape of a minor, dowry harassment, and related offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Dowry Prohibition Act, IPC and the POCSO Act. The FIR alleged that the petitioner raped the informant when she was a minor, subsequently married her to evade prosecution, and later subjected her to cruelty for not providing dowry. The informant turned hostile, leading to the petitioner's acquittal in the earlier case, but a fresh complaint was filed under the dowry and other criminal statutes. The court examined the seriousness of the accusations, the petitioner’s prior custody, and the fraudulent nature of the marriage. Considering the gravity of the offences and the risk of tampering with evidence, the court rejected the bail application and directed the trial court to expedite the trial within one year.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted to an accused of rape of a minor and dowry harassment under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Dowry Prohibition Act.
- Whether the alleged fraudulent marriage to the victim influences the bail decision.
- Whether the nature and seriousness of the offences warrant denial of bail.
Legislation cited
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — s. 115(2), 126(2), 3(5), 351(3), 352
- Dowry Prohibition Act — s. 3, 4
- Indian Penal Code — s. 323, 34, 341, 376, 504, 506
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act — s. 6
Subjects
- bail
- rape
- dowry harassment
- POCSO
- fraudulent marriage
- high court
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.32490 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-74 Year-2025 Thana- ANGARH District- Purnia
======================================================
Md. Raees @ Tetna @ Md. Raees Alam @ Rais Son of Khalique @ Khalik
Resident of Village- Khajana ward no., 3, P.S.- Angarh, District- Purnea
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. Sonam Begum D/o Saidul Rahman Resident of Village- Khagjana ward no.
3, P.S.- Angarh, District- Purnea
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ram Prawesh Kumar , Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Abhay Kumar , APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRABHAT KUMAR SINGH
ORAL ORDER
2 15-05-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the
State .
2. Petitioner seeks bail in Angarh P. S. Case No. 74 of
2025 registered for the offences punishable under Sections
126(2), 115(2), 352, 351(3), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya
Sanhita and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
3. As per F.I.R., in order to pacify the case in
connection with Angarh P. S. Case No. 30 of 2023 whereby, this
petitioner, allegedly, raped the informant, this petitioner
solemnized marriage with the informant and thereafter,
demanded motorcycle, gold and cash as dowry and assaulted
and ousted her from the house due to non-fulfillment of the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.32490 of 2026(2) dt.15-05-2026
2/3
same .
4. On perusal of record, it appears that petitioner
forcibly raped informant and at the relevant time informant was
minor and because of that incident, Angarh PS Case No. 30 of
2023 was registered u/s 341, 323, 376, 504, 506 an 34 of IPC
and section 6 of the POCSO Act against petitioner and because
of that case he had to remain in custody. Subsequently,
informant was assured by the family members of the petitioner
that this petitioner would marry with the victim, and based on
this false assurance, the informant turned hostile and the
petitioner was acquitted from the aforesaid case and released on
bail. It also appears that after marriage, the informant was
subjected to cruelty by her husband (petitioner ) and other in-
laws for not getting demanded dowry by them. On the request
of both the parties, the case was sent to the Mediation Centre,
Purnea on 16.04.2026 for resolving the dispute between
husband and wife, but there the process of reconciliation
remained unsuccessful and also petitioner is not excepting the
informant as wife. The matter was of POCSO Act but the
petitioner along with other co-accused have entered into
marriage to save skin from proceeding and now refused to keep
the informant as his wife .
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.32490 of 2026(2) dt.15-05-2026
3/3
5 . Considering the nature of accusation , materials
available on record and other circumstances of case, prayer for
regular bail of petitioner is rejected. However, since petitioner is
in custody since 15.02.2026 , learned Trial Court is directed to
expedite and conclude the trial, within the period of one year
from the date of receipt/production of copy of this order
(Prabhat Kumar Singh, J)
Koushik/-
U T
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